An Oakland County Circuit Court judge has reversed a lower court ruling and ordered a judgment in favor of a Huntington Woods couple who were sued by the city at the urging of their neighbor over a $6,000 driveway that was constructed with city approval and passed two city inspections.

Planning Commissioner Christopher D. Vogelheim, who lives on Victoria Avenue next to defendants Alex and Jennifer Moutsatsos, complained his neighbor's driveway was built in such a way that water runs off it and onto his property, but the Moutatsoses disagreed, insisting a permit and inspection say otherwise. Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Martha D. Anderson sided with them.

Vogelheim complained to the city that the driveway allegedly violated city code -- a $150 civil infraction -- because it slanted away from the Moutsatsoses' house toward the property line, attorney Jason Turkish said.

On Jan. 3, Anderson issued a nine-page written opinion that reversed the decision of the 45B District Court.

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It ordered summary judgment to be entered in favor of the Moutsatsoses and against the city of Huntington Woods.

Anderson's opinion also made it clear that the city never substantively responded to the 20-page motion for summary disposition that the Moutsatsoses' other attorney, Jessica E. Turkish, filed in April in the 45B District Court. The city had argued it was not required to respond to the motion, but Anderson ruled that the city's arguments for failing to respond were "foreign" to the court and "without merit."

Anderson said District Court Judge Michelle Friedman Appel erred in previously denying summary disposition to the Moutsatsoses and was critical of city claims that Vogelheim's basement was leaking because of the driveway. She noted the driveway was inspected twice and approved by city officials.

"(The city) cannot overcome the fact that the driveway was inspected not once, but on two occasions and both inspections were approved," Anderson said. "To now argue defendant will suffer no prejudice if ordered to correct this problem defies logic and would render the inspection process meaningless."

City attorney John Carlson failed to return a call from The Oakland Press seeking comment on the case.

The Moutsatsoses and their lawyers were pleased by the ruling.

"We are grateful that the Oakland County Circuit Court has reversed the decision of Judge Appel, who was threatening to require us to tear out a driveway that had already twice passed inspection," said Alex Moutsatsos.

"They say 'you can't fight city hall,' but my clients not only fought city hall, but they won," said attorney Jason Turkish, who added: "I could not be more proud of them for standing up for what they knew to be right and, in the process, making sure that nobody else has to endure what they did."

Attorney Jessica Turkish, co-counsel for the Moutsatsoses, said: "I never thought I'd be in the position of defending someone for doing nothing more than following the law, but amazingly that is exactly what happened here."